gunsha Reviews

The White Land (2005)

This film has never released, or has it?

[10/10 · 1 June 2009]

I give this one a 10 even though I have not seen it but I am dying to see it. It has Gracy Singh in it and is probably very nice. It would be a great follow-up to Gracy's role as Gauri in Lagaan, a performance unmatched by anything we have been able to see before or after Lagaan.

The White Land had been announced for 2005. There is a Gracy Singh interview mentioning it. There is even a set of photos on the web that look very nice, but no release ever.

Whoever knows about the whereabouts of this film will please report here.

Thanks!

Hanan (2004)

Gold in the off-beaten track.

[10/10 · 20 June 2007]

This film is worth years of searching the off-beaten track at the sidelines of Bollywood hits. Here is a piece of pure Gold in the bargain bin. Pain of Faith: Hanan - An Assault on Faith. This is the ultimate film. The redeemer of Devaki, the avenger of Saanvri, the answer to Pratha, yes even the son of Phoolan Devi herself. Paagal hai! Genial bhi hai! The drum plays and the powers of heaven come down to make a film you just have to watch -- if you've got the true spirit, that is.

This film is about a man lovingly stigmatized as "Pagla" (Manoj Bajpai). He lives at Sri Bhagwati Devi Mandir in the village. He plays the drum, like Bagha in Lagaan. He can speak though, just is retarded, or is he? The film begins with Seema Biswas, the "contractors" abused wife accusing the goddess for not looking after the women. She curses the goddess, who shall find no peace in her world until she makes a good husband. And with these words the woman drowns herself in the river. To atone for this curse the contractor offers a Girl to the temple (wow, what an excellent idea, that ought to work!) Uska naam kya hai? Bhagwati, ha! (Sonali Kulkarni). Also lovingly called "Pagli". So begins quite a cute story of Pagla and Pagli who in their madness seem the only true human beings. They marry themselves, as Pagal knows to recite all the necessary mantras himself. But the people of the village won't let them be. And so, a journey begins which is just lovely and hilarious and exciting and too precious to give away in a summary.

Things come full circle at the end and you will see the clash of atheism and religion, evil and good, death and life, all in these two human beings and their world around. Will religion win or humanity? Both? None? Gotta watch! Picture is very nice, music is nice, what a beat! Rural, rustic, down to earth, heavens themselves bump down into earth here. There are some really nice memorable songs on it. Dhol Dhol Dhol has that rustic beat of Pagla's drum around the village temple, Pal Pal Ko Sajana Hai (part 1 and 2) is a beautiful love song, and to think of Pagla and Pagli having fun in it -- their way -- makes it extra special to hear. Haat Baje To is wonderfully recited piece in a religious festival, and the final Dil Ki Dua makes a strikingly soft contrast to a highly dramatic development of the film.

This film is a special treat, it can leave some viewers quite puzzled, but it is very unique and memorable. Do yourself the favor and watch this one. It is a wonderful story and won't let you down. I gave it a straight 10/10.

Chaalbaaz (1989)

This is a gut-wrenching horror of a film!

[3/10 · 19 June 2005]

This film is a pain to watch. Not because of technical flaws or performance (it's an 80s film, so one must be quite tolerant), Sridevi is a great actress and dancer, but the story is terrible. There is just no way to enjoy this film. It shows such gut-wrenching abuse of the one twin role of Sridevi, Anju, and the whole film long you see the poor girl being broken and exploited. The film has some good intentions, which is to accuse the men's society of ruining the lives of women, but this film is so mercy-less and seems to right-out enjoy the Anju being abused, that the message becomes a farce. The ending does not help this film either, they spoiled it. I have not seen many Bollywood films before the 1990s, but I would say this one is special. Special because of Sridevi, but also infamous because of its cruelty. Just maddening and gut-wrenching.

Lajja (2001)

An absolute classic! Marvelous, simply marvelous!

[10/10 · 6 June 2005]

This is got to be a classic of Hindi cinema. It is so well done, technically and performance-wise and the selection of the top-class female cast alone is a reason to like this film. But most of all it did an outstanding job of taking on a serious issue and yet produce a powerful work of art that shines.

Right from the start, it is chilly, that cry of Ramdulai and the sari floating in the wind. This nightmare dream makes it clear that this is not going to be fun. The most disturbing events are shot in a frightening detail, but this is not a plain documentary like Bandit Queen, but is more elaborate as a movie for the common people. Thus the message is deeply moving but still bearable even to the more sensitive audience. The comedy and the action are well executed to lighten up the message, but they never become a purpose in themselves, and they always help in delivering the message of humanity, empowerment, and hope. Marvelous, simply marvelous!

I give this a 10/10 without the slightest doubt. It outshines even the greatest movies of recent years, such as Pinjar, Lagaan or Swades, Earth, Mission Kashmir, Roja, Bombay, and Dil Se. But Lajja is not for everyone. As a westerner I will say especially that this is not a beginner's film to Hindi cinema. If you don't have a fundamental love for India (yet), you should not watch this, instead watch Swades or Lagaan first.

Zameer (2005)

I admit, I enjoyed this film anyway.

[5/10 · 4 June 2005]

As a hardcore fan of Amisha Patel I can say I still enjoyed this movie. I have seen worse (like Yeh Hai Jalwa). There can be no denying that Zameer is technically really bad, imprecise cuts, shrill sound effects reminiscent of the old Mahabharata shows. And the plot is hilarious and neurotic.

It is about Suraj (Ajay) as a visiting lecturer who loves Supriya (Mahima) who suffers a strange paralysis (reminescent of the hysteria known from Sigmund Freud's late 19th century), but she is otherwise a lovely woman and Suraj is as committed to her in love as anyone can be. But Pooja (Amisha) the college girl is after Suraj with such determination and intrigue that things get completely out of and reasonable behavior.

How then, can one possibly enjoy this movie? If you take all that craziness for what it seems to want to represent, i.e., as the day-dreaming of an love-drunken teenager, it is not so far off the mark. The music is not too bad at all. With the two lovely leads Amisha and Mahima and all the pretty college girls, some people will find enough eye candy to get through the show to a somewhat rewarding closure.

Just leave any reason behind and enjoy.

Aanch (2003)

If you can see beyond the violence, you are greatly rewarded.

[8/10 · 1 April 2005]

A film worth seeing despite being very violent and plain insane from beginning to end, but it has something authentic to it. When Nana Patekar is the chieftain of one of two villages in a feud, you know that you're in for a rough time, desperation and pain awaits you (not unlike Shakti - The Power, but without a shrieking Karisma). Will anyone you care for in this movie survive? You won't know until you've seen it all the way to the bitter end. This is not for the faint of heart.

We can't give away too much of the story. Only so much: A bride and a groom who are each from the other of the two villages happen study in the city, but are being married, both against their will and both without knowing each other, not even having seen each other once (because that is not how it is done here.) The wedding night ends in a massacre and from there on the couple is torn in this fight. How they finally get to know each other, and love, and whether they will ever get to live together is all going to be revealed in this film.

It's violent, it's got action, guns and sticks and axes, but at least the violence is related to the plot and not so out of context as in so many other Bollywood flicks that have fighting scenes. And we also get to see a lot of rural Indian life, culture and beauty, and the director manages to let that shine through even all that madness.

What I liked is that all people were portrayed as humans, no one was just a bad daemon. Even Nana Patekar was not just the tyrant that he was in Shakti, but was given a little more soul, even a romantic dance. But don't expect the personalities as in Swades, these are not modern politically-correct individualist free-thinkers, but villagers, who follow their leaders and follow the tradition and take their place at the food-chain. They are all completely consumed by this life and know little of the rest of the world. This picture is delivered quite authentic, and without any commentary. There is not a single sermon, none of the characters, not even the two young protagonists rise above their culture, they are just the way they are for better or for worse.

This is a very remarkable film. Absolutely worth seeing. But not for the faint of heart.

Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai (2002)

Life is Beautiful

[7/10 · 17 January 2005]

The lovely Tabu is Shalu in Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai (Life Is Beautiful). Amar (Gurdas Mann), a wannabe film-star in Bombay meets Shalu, who is a prostitute whose liver suffers from too much liquor. There is also a mafia boss and his 8 year old daughter, Jameela, who is kind of autistic and only a music video of Amar seems to make her happy. The mafia boss kidnaps Amar to make his daughter happy and through all sorts of twists and turns Shalu and Amar and Jameela play a happy family for the sake of the little and the big girl. They fall in love and in the end the question is, will Amar make his dreams of being a film-star come true or will he save the two strangers that became his loved ones? Once that question is answered, there's still a twist to overcome...

This is a nice fairytale, Bollywood at what it does best. Never mind whether this film had flopped or not (my guess is it has flopped.) One can criticize that the story is a bit far fetched and some of the characters in it enter the scene a bit confusingly unrelated. But the bittersweet feeling and the exciting mix of evil characters and the highest of human values that even overlap can keep one captivated. The music is nice, the cinematography presents us many beautiful pictures and the dialogs also have a special beauty to them. It does suggest that life is indeed beautiful.

Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage (2002)

Hey, this was a great movie!

[8/10 · 10 December 2004]

I have to disagree with Andrea (butterflitter) on this movie, and yet it is typical for Bollywood that you will see these two extreme kinds of comments. Read the comments before watching the movie, because you have to have the right expectations to really enjoy it.

Welcome to the magic of Bollywood! These are fairy-tales of Princesses and Princes, take and enjoy them for what they are. Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage is a wonderful specimen of this genre, where you can cry with the heroine and at every point you know that all will be well that ends well.

Amisha Patel is absolutely gorgeous. And if you don't understand that she must act hysterical, you have not understood Bollywood! Also -- to Amisha's defense -- her character is indeed supposed to have asthma! The scene that explained this was cut out during final editing, but you might have picked up sister-in-law's comments that she would have finally been able to "breathe freely" etc. So, the fact that Andrea has diagnosed this asthma means that Amisha has done a great job in this role.

This movie has lots of parallels to Gadar, and you should watch Gadar as well if you like a similar plot set in a historic background (Partition), and have adorable Amisha Patel again.

Pratha (2002)

Pretty exciting, but with flaws

[6/10 · 13 October 2004]

This movie is worth seeing. It comes with a mission, which is that religious superstition needs to be overcome by enlightenment through education. It makes its point on a grotesque exceptional story, rather than using an everyday life example. I had some difficulty understanding that Leela was cast into a an incarnation of a local Goddess rather than a Devadasi, which might be a more common problem also worth exemplifying the same point.

The story would have still been credible overall, was it not for the crazy naivete of its main protagonists: when Leela's sister helps her escape (and pays for it with her life), Deepak spends a romantic night with Leela instead of using the night for a thorough escape. Upon her pleas to save her, he says "don't worry, now I am here nothing will happen", but look at his action: when they are discovered at promptly at daybreak he just runs away! Leaving poor Leela behind with her tormentors! That's how much his protection was worth!

Then as the big showdown approaches they miss 2 more opportunities to escape safely instead of sacrificing themselves in staging a hyper-dramatic climax. In the end, no one was left to teach their fellow citizens the morale of this fallacy they all fell victim to, because a violent escalation was considered more important than their own lives. It is sad that even in a movie that preaches enlightenment through education, in the end violence still has the last word. As if India needed more examples for communal violence.

The cinematography is fine. But there is little refinement in the music or choreography. The absolute highlight certainly was Ashney Shroff who seemed to be born to play Leela: not only is she is a stunning beauty, but she actually looks just like those idols of Hindu Godesses that one can see in paintings or plastic figurines.

Bombay (1995)

Yes, but, dancing was a disappointment

[8/10 · 13 October 2004]

Everyone said the right good words about this movie. I would only like to add that although the storyline is good, and the message is excellent, the hand-holding at the end is as beautiful as it is (sadly) unbelievable, and A.R. Rahman's music is fabulous -- the choreography was a disappointment.

I actually rented this movie to see the dancing to Kehna Hi Kya, which is an all time favorite of mine. With Chitra singing the whole time this would have been a perfect opportunity for Manisha Koirala to show off. But, she doesn't even seem to get he lips synchronized with the lyrics, and the camera-operator seems to dance around more than she does, so I was disappointed. The same goes for the other music&dance scenes in this movie. I'm a great fan of Rahman's but the choreography has spoiled it for me.

I really enjoy good Hindi movies, and music and dance is part of a good Hindi film. That's just the way it is and I don't want it any different. There are only few movies where everything fits: story, cinematography, acting, music and dancing. Nothing has yet topped Lagaan in that regard. Bombay is a great movie, but not perfect.